


Less Than Friends

by thankyouturtle



Series: Day in the Life [2]
Category: DCU - Comicverse, Justice League International (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-27
Updated: 2011-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-15 23:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thankyouturtle/pseuds/thankyouturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ted's going out with Barbara Gordon, and Mike can only think of one way to get him to stop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Less Than Friends

"You guys are such _jerks_!" This was accompanied by a hard punch to Mike's forearm, which had, he thought sadly, only just healed from the last time Karen punched him.

"What did I do?" he asked. He'd asked this the last time, too, the only difference being this time he _honestly_ had no idea what he'd done to irritate her. She jabbed him in the chest with a finger, probably bruising him again. Mike thought longingly of his shoulder pads. Being friends with Karen really ought to come with protective gear and a warning.

The finger was wagged in his face. "Not you," she said shortly. " _Ted_. It's all over the school that he's been going out with _her_."

There was no need to ask who "her" was. Karen was, despite her temper, a compassionate and generous girl - but she had a long-standing (and, to Mike's mind, extremely tedious) grudge against Barbara Gordon. He'd never actually got to the bottom of it, something that had happened in middle school that neither of them had ever forgotten or forgiven, but which meant glares and hair-flipping whenever they met in the school's hallways.

"If Ted's going out with her, how come _I_ get punche- no no no!" Mike winced and took a step back, but Karen made no move to hit him again. Instead, she testily crossed her arms.

"Because you should have stopped him," she said. "And _you're_ the one who's going to tell him that if he ever goes out with her again, you and I are _done_ as friends." She spun around and stormed off, and Mike watched her go helplessly. He probably should have told Ted that going out with Barbara was a seriously a bad idea, and he would have... If he'd known that Ted was going out with Barbara.

He'd thought that Ted told him everything. He sure as hell told Ted everything, because that's what best friends did, and Mike had thought that they were the best friends _ever_. They'd been friends ever since the very first day of high school, when Ms Hartley had gone into raptures over the importance of biology, and Mike had caught Ted's eyes and they'd both exploded in laughter. Ms Hartley had _not_ been amused, but by the time she'd finished telling them off they'd been firm allies. Even the fact that they should have been in totally different social groups meant nothing. Ted came to football games and yelled "woooo" at appropriate moments, and Mike went with Ted to techie roadshows and tried not to look too bored while Ted drooled over security protocols or whatever.

The more that Mike thought about how Ted apparently didn't care enough about him even to mention _in passing_ that he was going out with one of the coolest girls in school, the more he felt... actually, he didn't quite have a word for it. Sort of empty. Like, his stomach felt all twisted and even knowing that there was practice that afternoon didn't make him feel any better. And usually when he felt bad, he'd just go talk to Ted and Ted would make him feel better, but if Ted wasn't actually really his best friend then there wasn't any point doing that anyway.

It was a good thing that Karen hadn't told him during school. There was no possible way he'd be able to sit next to Ted in class, knowing that they weren't actually the best friends that the school had ever seen. As it was, he kept fumbling all through practice until Coach Lord had beckoned him and said that whatever was bothering him in his personal life, he absolutely had to keep his head in the game.

"What's the problem, Carter?" Guy Gardner sneereed at him in the locker room afterwards. "Boyfriend dump you?"

"No," Mike replied testily. Then, realising what he'd said, he hastily added, "He's not my boyfriend, Gardner, shut up." Too late, however; Gardner was already smirking like he'd discovered the world's best kept secret. As if, Mike thought, turning his back on the other boy. If he were going out with Ted then Ted wouldn't be going out with Barbara, and then he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. But no, Ted wasn't his boyfriend. They just spent a lot of time together, that was all. The just ate together at lunch and sat together in all the classes they had together, and spent weekends together, and last year they'd gone to prom not together, but it was just that neither of them had had girlfriends at the time, and sometimes Mike wondered what it would be like to kiss Ted.

Um.

Maybe he should go and see Ted. Right now. Mike knew exactly where he'd be - he often stayed late on Tuesdays, doing his homework in one of the science labs, waiting for Mike to finish practice so they could go home together. Yeah, he should definitely go and see Ted, and tell him that he shouldn't be going out with Barbara, on account of he should absoutely be going out with Mike instead. Mike dressed as quickly as he could, ignoring for once that his hair was still damp and unstyled, and walked as fast as he could towards the science block.

When he reached Ted's favourite lab he stopped for a moment, looking in. There was Ted, chewing thughtfully on a pencil, sitting behind a pile of books almost as tall as he was. This was it, then. Mike swung the door open dramatically, declaiming as he did so, "Ted, you can't go out with Barbara Gordon!"

Ted... wasn't actually alone in the room. Jaime Reyes was there, staring at him in surprise; and one of the Wayne kids, who was also watching him, expression unreadable.

"OK?" Ted said, uncertainly. "Er... why?"

"Because," Mike replied. What with everything he said being closely scrutinised by science dorks and all, this conversation somehow didn't seem quite the good idea it had a few moment earlier. "Um... Karen's really mad. You know how much those two hate each other, and when she heard about your date she was pretty steamed."

"Oh." Ted looked confused. "I mean, yeah, she would be, but - Babs and I aren't going out! We've been working on a comp sci assignment together and she has the most amazing idea for an android app. But we're not together, heh."

"But..." Mike began, and stopped. So - someone had seen Ted and Barbara studying together and the rumours had grown from there. That was school for you. He'd been panicking for absolutely no reason - Ted hadn't told him because there's been nothing to tell, and if Ted wasn't dating someone else then there wasn't any reason to tell him that he should be dating Mike. Still... Mike licked his lips. "So - if you're not seeing her then - maybe you and I could - do something? Um. Grab a pizza, or see if that giant robot movie is still on or... something?" He could feel his heart racing; he was all too well aware how stupid he sounded.

"OK, sure. I'm pretty much done with my homework, anyway." Ted stood up and started shoving the pile of books roughly into his satchel.

"No, I mean -" Mike swallowed. "I don't just mean hanging out. I mean, like... a date?"

"Yeah, I know." Ted swung his bag over his shoulder with an audible thump. "And since you asked, you're paying, you know."

"What? No way! You _know_ I work on a strict 50/50 basis for all romantice outings-"

"Yeah, and I also happen to know that your allowance is twice the size of mine-"

And just like that, Mike and Ted were going out.


End file.
